Peoria County Board approves referendum to eliminate recorder of deeds position

Thursday

Aug 14, 2014 at 10:20 PMAug 14, 2014 at 10:47 PM

Chris Kaergard of the Journal Star

PEORIA — Voters will decide Nov. 4 whether or not to keep electing a separate recorder of deeds in Peoria County or to consolidate the post under an elected clerk.

After a lengthy and contentious debate — little of which changed anybody’s mind, several board members said — the Peoria County Board voted 12-5 to move forward with a referendum to eliminate the recorder of deeds.

Eliminating the post and that of the chief deputy clerk could save up to about $175,000 annually, board member Stephen Morris said, while also creating a culture where other government officials need to demonstrate why their elected posts should continue.

“If you’re making six figures a year, you should be ready, willing and able to justify why you’re needed for the taxpayers of Peoria County,” he said, vowing continued efforts to streamline government offices.

Current recorder Nancy Horton, though, charged that the effort was rushed and ill-conceived.

“We have no forethought and only vague estimates of possible savings,” she told the board. “… Peoria County recorder of deeds is an institution and has been effectively serving your constituents for over 160 years.”

Board member Bob Baietto charged that any savings in at least one other county that has consolidated operations — Tazewell — have been illusory. He suggested instead a wholesale look at streamlining county government and reiterated his support for cutting the 18-member County Board by three people, a proposal that at current board salaries would save about $30,000 annually.

It does come down to money, though, board member Andrew Rand said in supporting the measure.

“This issue is about the 18 of us being asked to vote on a levy and a tax rate in November of every single year when all of the factors … are going in the wrong direction and all of the costs of government are going in the other direction — up,” he said.

Tim Lavelle, a representative with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, threatened board members before a debate on this and a separate resolution to let voters decide whether to consolidate city and county election operations that moving forward would likely cause the union to file an unfair labor practice claim because of a potential effect upon unionized government employees.

“You had an obligation to come to the union and bargain before you make the decision,” he said.

Midway through the debate, opponents tried to defer voting on the resolution for 15 months to allow for more time to discuss and debate its merits, meaning the soonest it could appear on a ballot would have been November 2016.

Doing so would have offered “a cooling-off period,” board member Brad Harding said.

“Some of the facts that have been put out on the table have been partial facts,” he said in arguing for a special committee to consider the proposal at length.

That’s already been done, though, said board member Mary Ardapple, who said the Peoria Area Shared Services (PASS) Forward committee served just that purpose in 2012, the last time the proposal came up. She and several other board members were visibly frustrated at the notion of delaying again on an idea that has been discussed twice already this decade by the board.

Those same five opposed putting the question on the ballot. Board member Mike Phelan had left the lengthy meeting by the time of the vote.

Using the opportunity to highlight that the recording functions of the office wouldn’t go away — just the elected post of recorder — board members also agreed to move forward on a more than quarter-million dollar purchase of a new computer system to handle recording functions.

Chris Kaergard can be reached at ckaergard@pjstar.com or 686-3135. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisKaergard.

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